Disk brakes of the type stated are known to persons skilled in the art. The brake caliper can be fashioned as a floating caliper or as a fixed caliper. In hydraulically actuated brakes, a piston which is displaceable in the direction of actuation by means of hydraulic pressure usually serves as an actuator. If the disk brake is an electromechanically actuated disk brake, an electromechanical actuator is used. A self-energizing device can be arranged between such an electromechanical actuator and at least one friction lining, said device automatically amplifying the actuation force generated by the electromechanical actuator in a braking operation and without an addition of external energy. In a disk brake having an electromechanical actuator, in particular, and irrespective of its precise structural design, the actual braking force during operation of the same must constantly be recorded as accurately as possible in order to be able to control the disk brake reliably and accurately such that a braking requirement set by a user of the brake is observed. The term “actual braking force” is understood here to be the force, between the friction linings and the brake disk, acting in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the brake disk, which force is generated in the disk brake when the friction linings are in contact with the brake disk for braking.
In order to determine the actual braking force, the deformation of a sensor element introduced into the force flux of the brake is usually measured. For example, a wire strain gauge can be attached to the brake caliper in order to measure the deformation thereof during a braking operation. The perpendicular force acting on the friction linings, i.e. the force directed at a right angle to the brake disk surface which presses the friction linings on to the brake disk, is frequently used as a measure of the actual braking force. However, force measurement accuracy has previously been inadequate since the sensors used display hysteresis effects and, furthermore, their output signal changes with temperature. The latter is critical because the sensor is generally located close to a friction lining which heats up intensely during braking operations. Integrated circuits, especially the ASICs frequently used in sensors, have problems withstanding the high temperatures which occur in the brake and run the risk of losing information stored in them. Sensor elements, especially strain gauges, used previously fail to meet the demands placed on them in the automotive sector in terms of process-engineering quality and endurance.